Scott's 2017 Predictions of All Kinds
Greetings. This page will include Scott's predictions pertaining to the 2017th year in the Gregorian calendar. Also, the 2017th year of the Julian calendar (since all of these events occur on January 14 or later). Football predictions will go into 2018, but a "sports year," as defined by Scott, ends on Super Bowl Sunday. The new sports year begins with the six-week slow period before March Madness, followed by baseball and football. Sports (both real and fake) and politics are among the most predicted things. Indians' 2017 Roster Shouldn't be as hard as prior years, since there are fewer battles. Hopefully, Michael Brantley is set to go on Opening Day Starting Lineup Much of this is obvious, barring any setbacks with Brantley. I'm not a huge fan of Santana leading off, but with no Rajai Davis, there is nobody to have that prototypical leadoff role (maybe Naquin eventually, but he needs to make some adjustments or he will be an 8-9 hitter or bench guy the rest of his career. Kip is also a distinct possibility). EE will fit nicely in that four-hole and Brantley (if he is even somewhat close to his 2015 self) withJ-Ram to protect him. Santana and EE will switch off between 1B and DH kind of how Santana and Napoli did last year, and I would expect Brantley to DH some too. 7-9 will have a decent bit of fill-ins from the bench. Bench Bye bye Michael Martinez. Although it may behoove Erik Gonzalez to have him play every day in AAA, I think he will have a very good spring and make the Indians' roster. Put him in a couple days a week to give Kip or Lindor a day off here or there. Also, he can play at 3B and Ramirez can go to the outfield for a day. I'm guessing Brantley will only play about 5 games a week early on, even if healthy. Guyer is a strong right-handed presence and will be a good compliment to Chisenhall and Naquin, or as a pinch-hitter late in a game. Almonte can be useful, since he can play all three OF positions, and give Brantley time off if needed. Perez is obvious. Rotation Barring injury, this will be the starting five. Meritt will be the next man up in case of injury, double header, etc. I put Tomlin ahead of Bauer, but that's just my personal preference. But having either of those two as your 5th starter is never a bad thing. Bullpen I am guessing the closer role will be primarily Allen, with Miller able to step in as needed (or when the match-up is more favourable to a southpaw). Unfortunately, Shaw is an obvious choice for the other set-up guy. Logan is a nice addition as a match-up lefty (which means Kyle Crockett has no chance of making the roster and will unfortunately be DFAed) and Otero is a good match-up righty/other Accardo. McAllister should be a shoo-in and the other spot is anyone's guess. I will say Clevinger, but could easily be Anderson, Merritt, or any youngster or non-roster invite with a good spring. 2017 MLB I will add explanations within the next fortnight or so. AL East 1 (2) Boston Redsox 2 (5) Toronto Blue Jays 3 New York Yankees 4 Baltimore Orioles 5 Tampa Bay Rays AL Central 1 (1) Cleveland Indians 2 Detroit Tigers 3 Kansas City Royals 4 Minnesota Twins 5 Chicago White Sox AL West 1 (3) Seattle Mariners 2 (4) Houston Astros 3 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4 Texas Rangers 5 Oakland Athletics NL East 1 (3) Washington Nationals 2 (5) New York Mets 3 Miami Marlins 4 Atlanta Braves 5 Philadelphia Phillies NL Central 1 (1) Chicago Cubs 2 (4) St. Louis Cardinals 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 Cincinnati Reds 5 Milwaukee Brewers NL West 1 (2) Los Angeles Dodgers 2 San Francisco Giants 3 Colorado Rockies 4 Arizona Diamondbacks 5 San Diego Padres